Garment hanger

ABSTRACT

The garment hanger, used for supporting waisted garments comprises, a support member, having a hook extending upwardly therefrom, the hook being removably connectable to a display bar, the outer extremities of the support member having waistband support members which extend downwardly therefrom. The waistband support members are generally oval in shape, the long axis being transverse to the support member and being open at its lower end. At the open end of each waistband support member, an angular surface is provided which terminates in an extension member which is in alignment with the long axis thereof while a second extension member extends downwardly at an angle parallel to the angular surface forming a lip internally of the waistband support members whereby the waistband of a garment is insertable between the two extension members and retainable in the waistband support members.

United States Patent 72] Inventor Beniamin Zuckerman 50 W. 72nd St., New York, N.Y. 10023 [21 Appl. No. 858,825 [22] Filed Sept. 17, 1969 [45] Patented Mar. 16, 1971 [54] GARMENT HANGER 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[5 2] US. Cl. 223/96, 24/138, 24/255 [51] Int. Cl. A47j 51/08 [50] Field ofSearch 223/91, 93, 96, 90; 24/138, 255, (T, H, G, GP, P, C, SP)

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,463,369 8/1969 Moskowitz 223/91 Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich Attorney-Kirschstein, Kirschstein, Ottinger & Frank ABSTRACT: The garment hanger, used for supporting waisted garments comprises, a support member,. having a hook extending upwardly therefrom, the hook being removably connectable to a display bar, the outer extremities of the support member having waistband support members which extend downwardly therefrom. The waistband support members are generally oval in shape, the long axis being transverse to the support member and being open at its lower end. At the open end of each waistband support member, an angular surface is provided which terminates in an extension member which is in alignment with the long axis thereof while a second extension member extends downwardly at an angle parallel to the angular surface forming a lip internally of the waistband support members whereby the waistband of a garment is insertable between the two extension members and retainable in the waistband support members.-

PATENTEDHARI slsm 570129 34 4 GARMENT INVENTOR.

v BENJAMIN ZUCKERMAN 3a 32 40 BY ATTORNEYS GARMENT muons DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART In recent years numerous disposable garment supports have been made for aiding the manufacturer in shipping his garmerits and the retailer in displaying these garments received. Principally, these new disposable plastic garment hangers were used with infants, childrens and young adults garments where more than one garment was to be hung on one hanger and which garment comprised a coordinated garment. Form hangers are perfect examples of such new type disposable hangers. The concentration of effort made to facilitate the shipment of garments prehung so that the retailers might open the received cartons, containing garments, and immediately hang the garments on display bars, created a void for the shipping and displaying a single garment for childrens as well as young adult ware.

Various attempts have been made, most recently, to fill this void, that is to provide a disposable hanger for a single garment. For example, a relatively new hanger employs three (3 large fingerlike elements at the ends of a support member. A single waisted garment is wedged between the fingerlike elements and the garment is thereby supported. This particular hanger was found to be somewhat bulky and difficult to manipulate when inserting the garment between the fingerlike elements. I

Other attempts have been made to fill the void and they essentially comprise the use of clamps, of various descriptions.

None of the so-called solutions, however, seemed to fulfill the needs of the garment manufacturer and the retailer, since these hangers were either too bulky, difficult to insert the garment, the clamps might damage the garment or the hangers themselves would be too expensive.

OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION It is the general object of the present invention to avoid the foregoing and other deficiencies in the prior art disposable plastic hangers by providing a firm supporting and small in size, disposable plastic hanger.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pair of waistband support members which are easily and quickly applied to the garment.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a waistband support member into which the waistband of a garment may be easily inserted and yet cannot be too easily removed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hanger for a single garment which will permit the full length display of the garment.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a support for a lower garment such as trousers, pants, panties, girdles and the like without having to fold the garment to be displayed.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a garment support which is inexpensive to manufacture and yet is sturdy.

The aforesaid objects of the present invention, and other objects which will become apparent as the description proceeds, are achieved by providing a garment support comprising a web having a hook extending upwardly therefrom. A waistband support means is connected to the outer extremities and are generally oval shaped and has an opening in the lower portion thereof. The oval shaped member has a backwall terminating in an extension piece which is directed downwardly and has a front wall terminating in a lip portion defining a passage formed between said extension piece and said lip portion through which the waistband of a garment is urged into the hollow center of the oval shaped member. A projection is formed interiorally of the front wall and adjacent the lip portion for preventing the waistband from being pulled from the hollow center of the waistband support means.

DESCRIPTION or nos.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the respective views and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is an end view of the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the waistband support, and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the web taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, a garment hanger adapted to support lower waisted garments such as trousers, pants, panties, girdles, shorts and the like is generally indicated by the reference numeral 10.

A support member or web '12 is provided and is provided with a hook 14 which may be integral with the upper edge 16 of the web 12. The hook 14 is adapted to fit on a conventional display bar or rack (not shown). It should be noted that both the web 12 and hook 14 are provided with an enlarged rounded edges 18 around their entire outer peripheries. This may be more vividly seen in FIG. 5 which is a cross-sectional view of the web 12. The purpose of the enlarged rounded edges is to provide greater structural rigidity to the members as well as eliminate any sharp edges which might tend to injure the user or the garments which are hung therefrom.

As shown in FIG. 1, the support member or web 12, at its outer extremities 20, 22 are rounded in the downward direction, again eliminating any sharp edges or corners which might tend to injure the user or the garment which is to be supported thereon.

The downwardly curved outer extremities 20, 22, of the web 12, terminate in downwardly extending waistband support members 24., 26. Each waistband support member 24, 26 is identical in structure to the other so that a detailed description of the waistband support member 24 should suffice as a description of the other waistband support member 26, their functions being similarly identical.

As shown in FIG. 3, the waistband support member 24, as viewed from one end, is comprised of an oval shaped member 28 having a hollow center 30 which is opened at its lower end 32. The long axis of the oval shaped member 28 is in alignment with the downwardly curved outer extremity 20 of the web 12. The back wall 34 of the oval shaped member 28 is offset from the long axis thereof, however, a flat angular portion 36 extends from the back wall 34 to the long axis forming an angular surface 38. An extension piece 40 is integral with the free end of the said flat angular portion and is in alignment with the long axis of the oval shaped member 28. The front wall 42 terminates at the lower portion 32 of the oval shaped member 28 in an upwardly extending projection 44 and projects in toward the hollow portion 30 of the oval shaped member 28. A lip portion 46 extends downwardly and forwardly from the upwardly extending projection 44 and in parallel relationship to the angular surface 38.

Structurally, a passage 48 is created which leads from a position between the extension piece 40 and the lip portion 46 to the hollow center 30 in the oval shaped member 28. The upwardly extending projection 44 plays a most important role which will be hereinafter described.

It should be noted that the material from which the garment support 10 is made, is preferably a plastic composition. This is especially true since a certain degree of resiliency is necessary in the operation of the waistband support means 24, 24'. However, any material which is generally light in weight, inexpensive, easily formed and is sufficiently resilient, may be used in the manufacture of the garment support it).

In order to support a waisted garment, such as a girdle, the waistband (not shown) may be laid on the extension piece 40,

which acts as an aide to guide the waistband of the garment into the passage 48 and subsequently into the hollow center 30. As seen in FIG. 3, the passage 48 is rather narrow but because of the resiliency of the material used, in the construction of the garment support it), the passage may be urged to a wider opened position to accept a waistband, thicker than that of the passage 48. The passage may be widened by merely applying an upward pressure to the lip portion 46. The waistband is thereafter urged between the two parallel surfaces of the anguiar surface 38 of the said flat angular portion and the lip portion 46 and into the hollow center 30 of the waistband support means 24 at a sharp angle. Because the passage 4&3 is generally narrower than the thickness of the waistband of the garment, to be supported, a pressure is maintained against the waistband of the garment creating a clamping affect thereby holding the waistband rather firmly in position. The waistband portion which is angled into the hollow center 30 is generally flared out from that portion which is being squeezed in the passage 48 and if a downward pressure is applied to the garment in an effort to yank it out of the waistband support means 24, the upwardly extending projection 44 will act as a wedge to prevent such pulling out of the waistband support means 24. It may be seen that the upwardly extending projection 44 is directed into the waistband at the point where it flares out into the hollow center 30 so that it is effectively working against a wider thickness than the width of the passage 48. The waistband which is being held is actually set up by the angular disposition of the passage 48 as it relates to the hollow center 30 since the garments waistband as it enters the hollow center can only flare out toward the front wall 42 since the back wall 34 is immediately adjacent the passage 48.

In order to release the waistband from the waistband support means 24, 24, it is merely necessary to exert sufiicient pressure on the lip portion 46 thereby widening the passage 48 to merely slip the waistband therefrom.

By connecting the waistband of a garment in both waistband support means 24, 24, a waisted garment may be sufficiently supported without fearing its being dislodged by ordinary handling of customers.

In order to support and display certain types of coordinated outfits, slots 50 are provided just below the upper edges 16 of the web 12. An opening 52 leads from the upper edge 16 into the slots 50 so that shoulder straps (not shown) may be releasably retained in the slots 50 by merely sliding the straps through the opening 52. In this manner the garment support while supporting a waisted garment in the waistband support means 24, 24', may also support another garment. As shown in FIG. 1, the openings 52 have rounded edges so that the straps of the garments to be supported will not be torn or frayed by any sharp edges.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the objects of the present invention have been achieved by providing a new and novel waistband support means which will permit a firm support of waisted garment and which will support the waisted garment on a display bar without concern for the garment being dislodged by ordinary handling of the purchasing public. Further, the same hanger may be adapted to support other types of garments, and the hanger er garment support is sturdy and inexpensive.

While in accordance with the Patent Statutes a preferred embodiment has been described in detail, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby.

lclaim:

l. A garment support comprising a web having a hook member extending upwardly therefrom, said web extending laterally outwardly from both sides of a base of said hook member, resilient waistband support means connected to the outer extremities of said web and extending downwardly therefrom, each of said waistband support means having a generally oval cross section with the long axis thereon extending transversely to saidweb, said waistband support means having a backwall and a front wall spaced therefrom and a passage formed in the lower portion thereof said backwall aving a downwardly and forwardly inclined surface and a downwardly extending member depending from said inclined surface, said inclined surface merging with said backwall and comprising a substantial portion of said backwall opposed to said front wall, a downwardly and forwardly extending member depending from said front wall parallel to said inclined surface, a lip extending upwardly from the upper portion of said downwardly and forwardly extending member of said front wail, said lip being spaced between said inclined surface and said front wall and extending to a point opposite the inclined surface which is located adjacent the merger between said backwall and said inclined surface, said inclined surface, said downwardly and forwardiy extending portion of said front wall and said lip forming said passage, said passage being smooth and uninterrupted, said passage adapted to receive the waistband of a garment permitting the waistband to be in serted within said garment support means, said lip adapted to engage said waistband to prevent the pulling of said waistband from said garment support means.

2. A garment support according to claim 1 wherein said garment support means is integral with said web.

3. A garment support according to claim 2 wherein said downwardly extending member in alignment with the longitudinal axis of said waistband support means provides a platform on which the garment to be supported may he slid in through said passage into said garment support means to promote the lip formed by said front wall to wedge beneath the garment urged into said waistband support means. 

1. A garment support comprising a web having a hook member extending upwardly therefrom, said web extending laterally outwardly from both sides of a base of said hook member, resilient waistband support means connected to the outer extremities of said web and extending downwardly therefrom, each of said waistband support means having a generally oval cross section with the long axis thereon extending transversely to said web, said waistband support means having a backwall and a front wall spaced therefrom and a passage formed in the lower portion thereof, said backwall having a downwardly and forwardly inclined surface and a downwardly extending member depending from said inclined surface, said inclined surface merging with said backwall and comprising a substantial portion of said backwall opposed to said front wall, a downwardly and forwardly extending member depending from said front wall parallel to said inclined surface, a lip extending upwardly from the upper portion of said downwardly and forwardly extending member of said front wall, said lip being spaced between said inclined surface and said front wall and extending to a point opposite the inclined surface which is located adjacent the merger between said backwall and said inclined surface, said inclined surface, said downwardly and forwardly extending portion of said front wall and said lip forming said passage, said passage being smooth and uninterrupted, said passage adapted to receive the waistband of a garment permitting the waistband to be inserted within said garment support means, said lip adapted to engage said waistband to prevent the pulling of said waistband from said garment support means.
 2. A garment support according to claim 1 wherein said garment support means is integral with said web.
 3. A garment support according to claim 2 wherein said downwardly extending member in alignment with the longitudinal axis of said waistband support means provides a platform on which the garment to be supported may be slid in through said passage into said garment support means to promote the lip formed by said front wall to wedge beneath the garment urged into said waistband support means. 